xxii President's Address 



could by the aid of powerful spectroscopes be seen at almost 

 any time, it is not to be wondered at that at the occurrence 

 of every total eclipse astronomical expeditions should be 

 fitted out by various countries, and that different nationali- 

 ties should vie with one another in the cpmpleteness of 

 appliances, and in an earnest effort to win for their particular 

 country the honour of adding some item to the already 

 secured knowledge of our great central luminary. The 

 eclipse of Gth May last was visible as total over a narrow 

 track in the Pacific, which crossed several small islands 

 known as Eance, Buffon, Beveridge, Flint, Caroline, and 

 Channel Islands. To these islands various astronomical 

 expeditions repaired, and, strangely enough, both the English, 

 American, and French expeditions selected Caroline Island, 

 a low island in long. 150 deg. 6 min. W., lat. 9 deg. 54 min. 

 N. From news to hand, it seems the weather, which had 

 been cloudy and wet, cleared up in time for the eclipse, 

 which was observed successfully throughout b}^ all. This 

 opportunity for again searching for the supposed planet 

 Vulcan was utilised, and one of the American astronomers 

 (Mr. Holden) reports : — " No planet as bright as a star of a 

 5 J magnitude" — a star just visible to the naked eye on a 

 dark night — " could be discovered." Most satisfactory 

 photographs of the various phases, and spectroscopic exami- 

 nations of the coronal and chromospheric regions were 

 obtained, and a substantial addition to our knowledge of the 

 physics of the sun will no doubt result from this under- 

 taking, for each nationality appears to have attacked different 

 problems, or the same only in different ways. The next 

 total solar eclipse, in 1885, will be visible in New Zealand, 

 and perhaps it may then fall to the lot of some of us to have 

 the opportunity of witnessing the grand and rare spectacle 

 of a total solar eclipse. 



My previous quotation from Professor Young's book on 

 the sun reminds me of a most interesting fact in connection 

 with the subject, the result of some carefully conducted 

 experiments in solar photography by the well-known 



